


Give Me A Hand

by Eastofthemoon



Series: Pale as a Ghost [2]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst, Fluff, Friendship/Love, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Team as Family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-05
Updated: 2018-05-05
Packaged: 2019-05-02 13:29:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,832
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14545755
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eastofthemoon/pseuds/Eastofthemoon
Summary: Lotor turned in his seat as he folded his hands into his lap.  “They are debating of whether or not you should have your cybernetic arm removed.”Ryou choked as he gripped his arm.Shiro cast a dark glare in Lotor’s direction.  “Why did you-”“He asked and there’s no point in hiding the matter,” Lotor said without flinching and cast Ryou a sympathetic expression.  “It is a grim topic, but it is one I believe should be had.”





	Give Me A Hand

**Author's Note:**

> This is a followup up to my Pale as a Ghost fic, so you're going to have to read that first to understand some of what's going on here.

Ryou had often thought himself as patient, but it was proving harder to do so as strands of his hair kept dangling over his eyes. He sighed as he pulled back his hair and took the hairclip Chulatt held in his paws.

“Thanks,” Ryou said as he inserted the clip and checked his hair was going to stay in place. “I wonder if I should just go bald and shave the whole thing off?”

The mice chittered as all four shook their heads. Ryou gave a smile as he looked in the mirror. “Yeah, you’re right. It wouldn’t work for me.”

The mice nodded which caused Ryou to chuckle. He thought Allura had been joking when she said the mice considered themselves to be hair stylists. But after spending the last few days of struggling to keep his growing hair out of his eyes, the mice appeared carrying ribbons, hair clips and even a small bottle of hair gel.

Ryou didn’t know where the mice had picked them up, but he had a strong suspicion Allura was the source of it, not that he was complaining. He had been pondering if letting his hair grow out was worth the wait.

Ryou walked out of his room as he patted the mice on their heads. “Alright, now let’s find out if Pidge and Hunk need help with the maintenance.”

The mice gave a thumbs up as Ryou smiled. He was tempted to check in on Shiro as well, but he was in middle of a meeting. Kolivan, Ryner and Captain Olia had suddenly called in saying they needed to speak with him and Allura. They didn’t state the reason, but Ryou sensed by the grim look on their faces it was urgent.

 _We’ll probably get the details later,_ Ryou thought as he made a turn. _Just hope that it’s nothing-_

He felt a tingle at the back of his mind. Ryou paused midsteped. “Uh oh,” he muttered.

The mice tilted their heads in confusion at him.

“Shiro’s upset,” he explained.

Ever since Shiro had freed Ryou from Haggar’s control, Ryou always seemed able to sense when he was upset or in distress. He had discovered this one night after sensing Shiro was having one of his nightmares and felt the sudden need to check on him.

Ryou didn’t know why he had the ability, but Shiro deduced it was likely due to Ryou’s spirit attaching itself to him when the link with Haggar was severed.

Ryou frowned as he debated on what to do. Shiro was in a meeting and he hated to disturb that, but if Shiro was upset enough that he could sense it, that could mean he needed some back up.

Ryou found himself wandering over to where the meeting was held. He could hear muffled voices from inside as he drew closer. He tapped the button that caused the door to open enough for him to eavesdrop. The mice squeaked and Ryou hushed them before he pressed his ear up to the opening.

“It’s out of the question,” Shiro voice snapped. “I can’t believe you would ask us this?”

“It’s a matter of security,” Kolivan replied in his calm tone. 

“We understand that,” Allura spoke in a firm tone, “but we assure you Haggar no longer has any influence over Ryou.”

Ryou jumped and swallowed. Oh...so it was about him.

“We know,” Captain Olia spoke, “and we believe you, but we just feel this would ensure it.”

“It just seems rather extreme,” Matt spoke.

“And you can’t expect us to force Ryou to do this,” Shiro replied.

Ryou raised an eyebrow. _Alright, what exactly are they talking about?_

He knew there had been debates among the Blades and the rebels of keeping Ryou around when it was revealed Haggar had been spying on them through him, but he thought they had gotten past that.

“We would never expect you to,” Ryner spoke in a calmer tone, “but we were hoping you could discuss it with him.”

Ryou pressed the button to fully open the door. “Or you could discuss it with me,” he spoke as he entered.

The room went quiet as all eyes turned to him. On one side sat Shiro, Lotor, Allura, Coran and Matt and the other sat Kolivan, Captain Olia and Ryner.

Shiro blinked and frowned. “How long have you been standing there?”

“Long enough,” Ryou stated as he set the mice on the table and watch them race to Allura. “What’s going on?”

Shiro firmly shut his mouth as he rubbed his neck. “Well..how do I say this?”

Lotor turned in his seat as he folded his hands into his lap. “They are debating of whether or not you should have your cybernetic arm removed.”

Ryou choked as he gripped his arm.

Shiro cast a dark glare in Lotor’s direction. “Why did you-”

“He asked and there’s no point in hiding the matter,” Lotor said without flinching and cast Ryou a sympathetic expression. “It is a grim topic, but it is one I believe should be had.”

Ryou narrowed his eyes before casting a look to Shiro and pulling up a chair. “May I ask what brought this about?”

Kolivan folded his hands on the table. “We accept you are not a danger to us anymore, however, the fact remains our security and intelligence took a severe hit when Haggar had access to it.”

Ryou felt the twinge of guilt he always felt when it was brought up.

“Not that it was your fault,” Ryner said gently, “but there had been fears of perhaps Haggar included other methods to spy within you that we don’t know about yet.”

“But we did a through examination,” Coran argued as he crossed his arms. “And Shiro took care of Haggar’s link-”

“We know,” Captain Olia replied sternly, “but while Ryou might not be a threat physically, how do we know for sure she isn’t still connected technology wise?”

“Because Pidge, Hunk and I went over it with a fine tooth comb,” Matt replied, “and form what we found it’s no different than Shiro’s.”

Kolivan raised an eyebrow. “I can not see how using a hair grooming product is suppose to reassure us.”

“It’s an Earth expression,” Shiro said as he folded his hands, “but the point is, asking Ryou to give up his arm is sounding rather paranoid.”

“But you must be when regarding the Witch,” Lotor said as he stood up. “I know better than anyone that she is someone you should never underestimate. I can not tell you how many times my ‘paranoia’ has paid off in the long run.” 

Ryou glanced to his cybernetic arm and squeezed a fist. Perhaps it was paranoid, but he couldn’t deny he had the same fears. What if Haggar took control of him again? He was lucky last time that no one got hurt, but that didn’t mean he would be in the future. Like it or not, his arm was the last remaining connection he had with Haggar.

“We can’t afford to be caught with our guard down again,” Ryner said softly. “I want to share your belief there is no danger, but I have my people’s safety to consider.”

Kolivan sighed. “And there are my Blades.”

“And the rest of the Coalition,” Captain Olia added and looked to Ryou. “There’s no denying it’s a lot to ask, but we are at war and we need every thread of protection we can get.”

Ryou took a deep breath. There were a lot of lives at stake. If there was even a small chance Haggar could reconnect with him…

Shiro sighed as he eyes hardened. “You’ve all made valid points, but still we can’t ask-”

“No, I’ll do it,” Ryou cut in as he stood up. “I’ll give up my arm.”

Shiro’s eyes widened as Allura stood, and both Matt and Coran looked to each other in shock.

“Ryou,” she began, “you don’t have to decide-”

“But they’re right,” Ryou continued as held up his arm. “We can’t take the risk of it happening again..I can’t take the risk.” He shut his eyes and shook his head. “But..I will need an arm to replace this one.”

Matt tapped his chin and cleared his throat. “Well...actually, we might have something for you.”

He reached into his pocket and brought out a holographic image of a cybernetic arm.

“What is that?” Shiro asked as he drew closer to work.

“A secret project Pidge, Hunk and I have been working on,” Matt explained as he stood up and walked towards Ryou with it. “We thought at some point Shiro may want to get rid of his Galra made arm.” He gave a bitter smile towards Shiro. “We know you like using it in fights, but we wanted to have this as a backup plan if needed.”

Ryou looked over the design. It didn’t seem as bulky as his or Shiro’s current arm. It had a sleeker and smoother design to it. It was like a combination of Earth and Altean designs.

“How intriguing,” Ryner said as she approached. “May I see?”

Matt nodded as he handed it over to her. “It’s not as powerful, and we didn’t want to tell Shiro until we figure out the details of how to attach it.”

Ryou nodded as he gripped his shoulder. One of the reasons they had never bothered to detached Shiro’s arm was because none of them had been certain they could reattach it or do it without hurting Shiro.

“If you like,” Lotor said as he stood and tucked his arms behind his back, “I could inquire the medics at my headquarters.”

“We also have Blades with the same knowledge,” Kolivan spoke and glanced to Shiro. “Ulaz was hardly the first blade to go undercover as a medic.”

“And I would gladly offer assistance in finalizing the design,” Ryner said as she looked to Ryou. “With that would be alright with you?”

“Sure,” Ryou said as he crossed his arms, “that would be-”

 

“Excuse me,” Shiro cut in as he wrapped an arm around Ryou’s shoulders, “could everyone just give us a minute?”

He shot Ryou a meaningful look before he lead Ryou out of the room. Neither said a word until they entered the room across the hallway, and Shiro shut the door.

“What are you doing?” Shiro asked as his face softened. “Ryou, there’s no need for any of this.”

“Shiro, you heard them,” Ryou said with a sigh. “We can’t pretend there’s zero chance of Haggar using me again.”

Shiro opened, but then promptly set his jaw. “Okay, fine, we can’t,” Shiro said as leaned against the wall, “but we can just double check your arm. We don’t have to-”

“When Keith found me and brought me here, Coran did a through inspection of me, remember?” Shiro fidgeted at that, but became quiet as Ryou continued. “He didn’t suspect anything wrong, and we ended up falling right into Haggar’s plan.”

“It’s not like anyone suspected she would create a clone,” Shiro argued.

“Exactly,” Ryou insisted, “we can’t predict her movements.”

“But-” Shiro started, but Ryou placed a hand on his shoulder to shush him.

“I appreciate you standing up for me, but..” Ryou held up his arm, “frankly I would feel better if we replaced my arm with something I know can’t be hacked.” His eyes narrowed. “And I know that you wish sometimes you could remove your arm.” He tapped his forehead. “I have your memories remember?” He gave a wistful smile. “I can be a pretrial for you.”

Shiro didn’t smile back. “I don’t think it’s funny joke about being a test subject for my sake.”

Ryou sighed as he leaned against the wall next to him. “Alright, noted, but point is I honestly want this.” He squeezed his eyes shut. “I still have nightmares about hurting Lance and those are just my memories.”  
Ryou hated playing this card, but it was probably the only way to get Shiro to be on board with the whole thing. “And that’s not including the nightmares I got from your memories too.”

Shiro flinched, and Ryou felt terrible for it, but knew he won as Shiro shook his head. “Alright, I won’t fight it anymore,” Shiro said as he moved in front of him. “If you truly want this to feel safer, I won’t stand in your way.” He rubbed his neck. “But I want to state I never once believed you were a threat.”

Ryou smiled as he pulled Shiro into a hug. “Thank you,” he said, “it is nice to know I have you in my corner.”

Shiro hugged back. “By the way, why did you come to the meeting?”

Ryou chuckled as they broke apart. “My ‘Shiro’s senses’ were tingling.”

Shiro blinked and rolled his eyes. “The link thing, gotcha.” He shook his head. “I always forget about that thing.”

Ryou couldn’t blame him. Shiro had sensed when Ryou was in distress, but it didn’t appear to be as strong as Ryou’s end of it.

“Come on,” Ryou said as he pointed to the door. “Let’s get back to the meeting and finish discussing my new arm.”

Shiro frowned again and shook his head. “You know, I doubt Lance will be thrilled about this.”

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“This sucks,” Lance said from his spot in the chair in Pidge and Hunk’s workroom. “I can’t believe you’re being made to get rid of your arm.”

“No one is making me,” Ryou said as he tried to keep his arm still for Hunk. “As I repeatedly told Shiro, I’m doing it because I want to.”

Lance wasn’t impressed as he folded his arms. “Still, don’t like it.”

Ryou shrugged. “It is what it is.”

Hunk finished his measurements as swiftly wrote them down. “Okay, think we got everything.” He glanced to Ryou. “Got to say, it’s easier to plan this out with you knowing about it.”

“I’ll bet,” Ryou said as he rotated the kinks out of his shoulders. “How long do you think this will take to make?”

“Not long now that we got Ryner helping us,” Pidge commented as she adjusted the design. “Although, I do have to agree with Lance that I wish it hadn’t come about like this.”

“Can’t change the past,” Ryou said softly as he flexed his fingers. “Anything else you guys need from me?”

Hunk shrugged. “Don’t think so...Oh!” He pointed at him. “Except what your paladin colour will be.”

Ryou tilted his head. “My colour?”

“For your paladin armour,” Pidge explained as she adjusted her glasses. “Didn’t you pick one yet?”

Ryou opened and shut his mouth. “Oh that,” he said softly.

He’d almost forgotten. Even though Ryou had suggested he step down as a paladin, Shiro and the others insisted he was one. Ryou decided not to argue, but that did mean he needed a different colour of armour since Shiro was the true black paladin.

Lance frowned. “Still having trouble picking a colour?”

“Naw, think I narrowed it down,” Ryou said with a sly smile. “I was going to mention it to Coran today for him to make it but,” he held up his cybernetic arm, “I got sidetracked.”

“Can’t blame you for that,” Lance said as he stood up and tucked his hands into his pockets. “So, what’s the colour?”

Ryou smirked. “I’m not telling.”

“What?” Lance asked.

“Figured be fun to surprise you all,” Ryou said and then looked to Hunk and Pidge. “Although, I’ll tell you two once you’re almost building the arm.”

Hunk and Pidge grinned to each other and grinned. “Deal,” they said in unison and they both made a thumbs up.

“Aw, come on, that is so not fair,” Lance said as he lightly punched Ryou’s shoulder.

Ryou chuckled as he rubbed his arm. “My arm, my rules.”

“Anyway,” Pidge said as she pushed her chair over to next to Hunk. “Since we got Ryner helping now, this shouldn’t take too long to complete.”

“Which probably means you won’t have wait super long to have your Galra arm removed,” Hunk said and then frowned. “Don’t..know if that’s a good thing or not.”

Ryou found himself gripping his cybernetic arm. “I rather get the whole thing over it, so the sooner the better.”

Hunk exchanged a raised eyebrow with Lance, but then shrugged. “If you say so.”

Ryou nodded and kept smiling in spite of the small knot that was forming in the pit of his stomach.

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A couple of days later, Ryou was gathered into a room with Ryner, one of her scientists and one of the medics sent by the Blades. Ryou had turned down Lotor’s offer of sending one of his surgeons. Knowing they would be identical to the ones that took Shiro’s arm in the first place did not sit well with him at all. Kolivan would have attend, but he had to focus on an upcoming mission so Krolia took his place.

Krolia was interesting. She was quiet and kept to mostly to herself while she stayed at the castle, but there was no doubt she was Keith’s mother. They shared the same serious nature, gestures and even how she stood was similar to Keith.

Ryou wished he could discuss to Keith about it, but they both had been staying away from each other since the reveal. Ryou wanted to give Keith as much space as possible. The boy was never rude to him, but he imagined Keith did not hold any positive feelings towards him currently.

The Blade medic held up a diagram. “This normally would be a standard operation,” she explained, “but we will have to be cautious. We don’t know if Haggar had planted anything else in the arm to prevent it from being removed.”

“I concur,” Ryner said with a nod as she patted Ryou’s shoulder, “with that said, I think it should be fine considering we found nothing in our currents scans of it.”

Ryou swallowed and nodded. “Will it be a long operation?”

“No,” the Blade medic said, “but it will have to be two separate operations.”

Krolia blinked surprised. “Why two?”

“We will need one whole operation to remove the arm,” the Oklarian scientist explained. “Then, we will need Ryou’s arm to be completely healed before we install the implant for the new arm. This way, if we discover anything had healed incorrectly or was damaged from when your arm was first attached we can accommodate for it.” He looked to Ryou. “And you still wish for this arm to be removable, correct?”

Ryou found himself shaking his head. “Yeah, I want to be able to remove it sometimes.”

It would be nice if he had the option of taking it off like for sleeping. Although, it was a drastic change though. Was it still a good idea?

Krolia frowned, but gave a nod. “Alright, then,” she looked to the medic, “please explain the rest of the procedure.”

Ryou heard the words, but found his brain was barely able to comprehend their meaning. He tried to pay attention, but the more he did the more his mind would wander back.

Back to memories of being strapped to a table. Screaming to be let go before a Galra medic injected a drug into him. Losing conscious as he saw the medic prepare some sharp tools-

A hand brought him back to the present. Ryou choked and glanced up to Krolia’s face.

“Are you alright?” she asked with concern. “You were beginning to look a bit pale.”

Ryou glanced down and noticed his hands were shaking before he quickly crossed them over his chest. “Yes, I’m fine...sorry.”

Krolia didn’t look convinced and looked up to Ryner. “This is a lot of information to take in. Perhaps it’s best we take a short break before we continue?”

Ryner glanced to Ryou before she offered a small smile and nodded. “Yes, and it would allow me the chance to call home. I told my mate I would check in with him.”

Krolia looked back to Ryou. “You don’t have to stay here. I might suggest a short walk would be best.”

Ryou wanted to argue, but he was met with a hard stare that rivaled Keith’s when he got stubborn.

“Yeah..sure, sounds good,” he said in a whisper. Ryou felt his legs shake a bit, but he ignored them as he entered the hallway.

He tried to stop thinking about the memories, but they kept repeating over and over in his head. Ryou leaned against the wall as he drifted back into his room. Once there he found himself panting and without realizing it curled up on his bed.

“I’m fine, I’m fine,” he repeated, as he tried to calm his beating heart. “It’s not going to be like last time. I wasn’t even there for that. It wasn’t me. It wasn’t me.”

He suddenly felt a pair of hands touch his shoulder. “Ryou?”

Startled, Ryou looked up to see Shiro hovering over him. When did he get here?

“Shiro…” Ryou stammered as Shiro gently forced him to sit up. “I..I..”

Shiro shushed him and pulled him into a hug. “It’s okay, just focus on breathing.”

He felt Shiro’s hand rub circles into his back. “It’s just you and me,” Shiro continued. “Just focus on breathing in and out.”

Ryou swallowed, shut his eyes and then did as Shiro instructed. They sat there like that for several moments. Shiro didn’t let go until Ryou was breathing more steadily and he raised his head.

“I’m..feeling better,” Ryou said as he leaned into Shiro. “Sorry. I..I guess all the surgery plans were getting to me.”

“It’s a lot to take in,” Shiro said, “and it’s not like either of us have pleasant memories of last time.”

“That’s putting it lightly,” Ryou commented and then looked to Shiro. “Why did you come to my room? I thought you were sparring with Keith?”

“I was,” Shiro said and smirked as he tapped his head, “but my twin senses tingled and I sensed something was wrong.”

Ryou gave a bitter laugh. “And you complained it never works as well for you.”

Shiro kept his smile as he rubbed Ryou’s shoulder. “When I went to look for you, Krolia said you seemed stressed and suggested I go check on you.”

Ryou nodded. “She seemed to be the first to pick up on that.” He paused and tilted his head. “Which is a bit surprising since all of the Galra we’ve met complain humans are hard to read.”

Human mannerisms and gestures were often very confusing for Galra. Ryou recalled several of the Blades had comment on it.

“She did live with Keith’s father,” Shiro commented, “I bet she got use to reading human body language.”

“True,” Ryou said and laughed. “Maybe Krolia should act as a human translator for the Blades.”

Shiro laughed, and then his smile vanished as he gently lifted up Ryou’s head. “Listen, you don’t have to go through with this. You are allowed to change your mind and no one will judge you for it.”

Ryou shut his eyes as he took a deep breath. Part of him was tempted. He could just forget the whole thing, but that would mean he would always have that lingering fear hanging over him.

“Thanks, but no, I have to do this,” he said as he looked up to Shiro. “It’s the only way to ensure I have complete control over myself again.”

Shiro’s eyes hardened, but he gave a silent nod as he gave another hug. “Okay, but the offer will stand and that includes right before you go into surgery.”

“Understood,” Ryou said as he leaned against Shiro. “Do you..think it could be possible to not have any Galra medics in the room?” He rubbed his cybernetic arm. “I mean...I know they wouldn’t hurt me but-”

“Seeing Galra right before you are put to sleep doesn’t bring back any good memories,” Shiro finished and nodded. “I’m certain we can arrange that.”

Ryou sighed as he shut his eyes. “Thanks, Shiro.”

Shiro rested his chin on top of his head. “Hey, it’s what big brothers are for.”

Ryou gave a half smile as he blushed a little, but he didn’t protest it.

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The day of the first part of the surgery came far faster than Ryou expected it to. Before he realized it, he had undressed himself, put on a gown and was currently sitting on a stretcher waiting to be rolled off to surgery. Shiro, Allura, Pidge, Hunk, Lance and Keith gathered in his room to give support as they waited for Coran and the surgeons to be ready.

Lotor couldn’t be there in person, but he had called Ryou earlier that morning to wish him luck, which he appreciated. He kept trying to ignore the knots he felt in his stomach, but they only seem to grow with each passing second as he drummed his fingers against his knee. 

“You still sure about this?” Shiro asked as he touched Ryou’s shoulder.

“Yeah,” Ryou said as he took a deep breath. “I’m not backing out now.”

“We know, man,” Lance said as he smiled and held a thumbs up, “but it’s going to be fine.”

Pidge nodded in agreement. “Yeah, the Olkari surgeons know what they’re doing.”

“And no way would we hand you off to someone unless we trusted them,” Hunk said with a nod. “They got the Pidge, Matt and Hunk seal of approval.”

Ryou chuckled. “Good to know.”

He then felt a hand on his arm and glanced up to see Allura. 

“I did not wish for the circumstances, but I thank you for doing this, Ryou,” she said with a sad smile. “Also, the mice requested for me to pass on they hope everything goes well.”

“Tell them thanks,” Ryou said as he touched Allura’s hand, “and you’re welcome, although I’ll admit half the reason I’m doing this is for me.”

“We know,” Shiro repeated with a sigh. “You’ve made that quite clear for all the times I tried to talk you out of it. You’re so stubborn.”

Ryou heard a scoff and was surprised to see it was from Keith. He’d been quietly standing off in the corner the whole time.

“You realize,” Keith said as he looked to Shiro, “any stubbornness Ryou got was likely from you? So, you only got himself to blame.”

Shiro pouted slightly as the others chuckled. Ryou tried to give a smile, but paused as he realized Keith was staring at him.

The boy shoved his hands into his pockets as he shifted his feet. “..Good luck in there...everyone will be waiting for you.”

Ryou gave a small smile. “Thanks.”

It was the most words Keith had actually said to him in weeks.

The door opened and Coran entered as he carried a tablet. “Well, we’re all set in there. All we need now is a willing patient.” He glanced up as he placed the tablet on a table. “If there is one, that is.”

“There is,” Ryou said as he swallowed. “Shall we get this over with?”

Coran nodded as he touched Ryou’s shoulder. “I’ll be in the room with you during the whole procedure.” He placed a hand over his chest. “Nothing will go wrong on my watch.”

Ryou smiled. “That does make me feel better.”

“Me too,” Shiro said with a smile as he patted Ryou’s head one more time. “See you after you wake up.”

Ryou nodded as Coran began to push the stretcher and Allura opened the door for them. Taking deep breaths, they ventured down the hall and two Olkarians opened the door to the operating room.

Ryou almost didn’t recognize Ryner in her surgeon outfit as she approached to greet them.

“How do you feel?” she asked.

Ryou forced a smile. “Great,” as his fingers shook a little.

Coran raised an eyebrow as he patted his shoulder. “Also a bit nervous I believe.”

“Understandable,” Ryner said as she held up a gas mask, “but don’t worry. You’ll merely go to sleep and it will barely feel like any time went by.”

A memory reminded Ryou that last time he recalled that happened Shiro had woken up with his new arm, but he forced it aside.

He lifted it his head and Ryner secured it around his mouth. Coran then gently lay his head back down as the gas was turned on.

“Just count back to five, my boy,” Coran told him.

Ryou compiled and found his eyes shutting before he reached two. 

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Ryou felt groggy and sluggish when he opened his eyes. One of his arms felt a lot lighter, but he wasn’t certain why.

“Ryou?”

He turned his head and briefly thought he was staring into a mirror, until he reminded himself he didn’t have black hair anymore.

“Shiro?” he asked with his voice still thick with sleep.

“Yeah, it’s me,” Shiro said with a smile as he patted his head. “Operation was success. You came out over an hour ago.”

Operation? Ryou felt confused until he glanced down and realized his cybernetic arm was gone and the remaining stump was wrapped in bandages.

It took a minute for his brain to process and reboot. 

“Oh, right, they took my arm,” he muttered.

Laughter was heard from across the room. “Man, they must have given you some mega painkillers if you forgot that.”

Ryou lifted his head and saw a very tall Pidge grinning at him from a chair. “Pidge? When did you get so tall?”

Tall Pidge laughed and shrugged. “Well, turns out peanut butter cookies can cause major growth spurts-”

“Don’t tease him,” Shiro said as he shook a finger. “It’s just Matt. He’s trying to mess with you.”

Ryou blinked and then laughed. “Right, see it now. Sorry, guess the painkillers making me a big lightheaded.”

“No kidding,” Matt replied as he crossed his arms. “The others had to go meet with the rebel leaders, but we promised them we keep an eye on you.”

“Oh, okay,” Ryou said with a smile.

Right, he did remember telling them to go and not feel obligated to stay.

“With that said,” Shiro asked with a frown, “how do you feel?”

Ryou grunted as he glanced to the stump. “Not too bad, but the painkillers are probably a big factor in that. Ask me again in a few hours.”

“Fair enough,” Matt said as he then reached for a box sitting on the table, “and I’ve been instructed to give you this.”

As Shiro adjusted Ryou’s pillow, Matt placed the box near the edge of the bed.

“What’s that?” Ryou asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Get well presents,” Matt declared. “We got a fresh batch of Hunk’s cookies, a few games from Pidge and this from Lance.” He held up a plush black lion with small wings sticking out.

Ryou laughed as he took the lion from Matt. “Where did Lance find this?”

“Fairly certain he made it,” Shiro said with a smile. “I was there when he asked for Coran to help him find materials for it.”

Ryou fingered the soft ears as he heard the Black Lion growl softly in his head. “I love it,” he said with a silly grin and looked to Shiro. “He should make one for you too.”

“Maybe for my birthday,” Shiro said as he ruffled Ryou’s hair and reached into the box. “Keith found this for you.” He pulled up a small sparkling stone. “He got it from a market and apparently the vendor said they’re suppose to bring good luck to people you give them as gifts to.”

Ryou took the stone and fiddled with it. “He didn’t have to do that.”

“He knows, but he wanted,” Shiro said and then brought out a small box. “Allura also found these candies for you.”

Ryou nodded and frowned. “They’re not cherry are they? I hate cherry.”

“Considering she doesn’t know what cherries are, I’m fairly certain they’re not,” Matt chided as he took a seat next to the bed. “I feel like we should be recording this.”

“Let’s not,” Shiro said as he crossed his arms. “Once the drugs wear off, we’ll put you in the cryopod to finish up the healing.”

“Right, right,” Ryou muttered.

That was the plan. Then he would get a day to himself to recover before the second operation. He glanced over to his wrapped stumped. “Feels weird without it,” he muttered as he gripped his shoulder. “I..I feel like it should be there.”

“I know feeling all too well,” Shiro said softly as he held up his own arm. 

Ryou sighed as he shut his eyes. A small part of him would miss the power the cybernetic arm gave him, but it was worth the security it brought him without it.

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By the time the other paladins had returned, the drugs had worn off and Ryou was fully coherent to thank them for the gifts. They all looked relieved to see Ryou made it through the first operation in one piece.

It wasn’t long before Ryou was taken to finish the rest of his healing inside a cryopod, which only took a couple of hours. He was exhausted by the time he was let out and didn’t mind leaning onto Hunk and Shiro for support.

Coran removed the bandages and inspected Ryou’s stump. “It seemed to have fully healed,” he stated as he patted Ryou’s shoulder. “And, as promise, that will be all you have to worry about for the rest of the day.”

“And tomorrow,” Allura said with a small smile, “since the second operation won’t be until the day after.”

“Sounds good,” Ryou said with a yawn and rubbed his eyes. “I’m ready to sleep for a long while.”

“How about after we get some food in you first?” Hunk suggested as he crossed his arms. “I made some of that soup you like and I got some fresh bread to go with it.”

“And we figured we could all just go crash on the couch and watch movies while you ate,” Pidge said with a smirk. “Lance went ahead and got the blankets and pillows prepared.”

Ryou shook his head. “Thanks, but you don’t have to do that.”

“Uh, yes we do,” Lance said with a wave of his hand. “You just had major surgery and a movie night is a perfect way to help you relax.”

“Although,” Allura said from her seat, “Ryou may want to just go and sleep in his room, rather than watch movies.”

“It’s fine,” Ryou said with a nod, “sounds fun.”

Shiro smiled and looked up to Keith who was still sitting in the corner. “You want in?”

Keith glanced over as he tucked his hands into his pockets. “Maybe later? I need to talk to Krol..um..I mean my mom first. We’re overdue to make a report to Kolivan.”

Ryou’s eyes softened. “Um..then hope we see you later.”

Keith gave a slight nod before he left the room, and Ryou wasn’t able to dwell on it too long before he was dragged off to the rec room. He was placed on the couch and didn’t fight as the group tucked him in with a blanket.

Hunk brought Ryou’s soup and bread out on a tray, and set it in his lap. Ryou didn’t realize how much he was starving until after he had his first mouthful of soup. The bowl was nearly empty by the time the others had returned with their snacks and positioned themselves on the couch.

Once he was done, Lance took the tray away as Shiro fluffed Ryou’s pillow.

“Comfy?” he asked.

“Very,” Ryou said with a yawn, “and I can’t promise I’ll stay awake for the whole movie.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Pidge said as she started the movie. “We can always rewatch it with you later.”

“What movie did you pick anyway?” Shiro asked as he sat next to her on the floor.

“A comedy movie,” Pidge said, “figured something light would be the best choice.”

Ryou tried to pay attention to what was being said, but his eyes were already shutting. By the time the opening credits finished playing, Ryou was sound asleep.

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Despite Ryou’s protests he could work, everyone insisted he take the day off to relax. He felt guilty since after getting a full night sleep he felt fine, however, Shiro was the one to point out he was currently short an arm. To that, Ryou had to admit defeat and spent the rest of the day either reading or watching some of the movies Pidge set up. He tried to take his mind off of the second surgery, but that proved to be the most difficult when he went to bed.

However, the mice appeared and had apparently decided to sleep with him to keep him company. Feeling their tiny presence seemed to help soothe his nerves and eventually sleep did come for him.

Ryou was taken into surgery the next morning and it was the same procedure as before. He felt less nervous this time around as Ryner told him to count backwards and he was placed into an induced sleep.

He awoke slowly and his right arm felt heavier. Ryou cracked opened his eyes and the first thing he saw was Pidge, Hunk and Matt’s arm design laying before him. It took another moment to realize it was his new arm now attached to him.

Ryou blinked as he flexed his fingers with it. As requested the arm was white with streaks of pale purple. It was exactly how he pictured it would be.

“So, you’re the purple paladin?”

Ryou raised his head. He grinned as he realized the paladins, and Matt were in the room with him.

“Yeah,” Ryou said with a sly grin as he looked to Lance. “Nice, huh?”

“Yeah,” Lance said slowly, “but isn’t purple more of Shiro’s colour? I mean the dashboard in the Black Lion tend to be that.”

“Dark purple,” Shiro corrected, as he patted Ryou’s arm. “His is more of a lighter purple.”

“Like lavender,” Hunk suggested as he crossed his arm. “There is more than one shade of purple. Heck, pink is actually a shade of red-”

“Yeah, okay,” Lance said as he held up his hands. “I’m good without the colour theory lesson.” He glanced back to Ryou. “Still a bit surprised though.”

Ryou shrugged. He had worried the colour was too close to Shiro’s, but none of the other colours seemed to fit him. “It just felt right.”

“Since it’s your colour that should be what’s important,” Allura voiced as she approached his bed. “How do you feel?”

“Groggy,” Ryou said as he lifted up his new arm and gripped it’s wrist. “This will take some getting use to.”

“Yeah, but we can help you with that,” Pidge voiced, “and the beauty of this design is that you can take it off when needed to.”

“Yeah, hear that, Shiro?” Matt voiced as he poked his shoulder. “We can make one for you too.”

Shiro rolled his eyes. “We’ve just barely gotten through Ryou having to get his new arm. I’ll hang on to mine for now.”

Matt, Pidge and Hunk exchanged a look that hinted to Ryou that conversation was far from over, but they were keeping quiet about it.

Keith slowly glanced up from his corner. “Does it hurt?”

Ryou shook his head. “No, it’s fine.”

“Glad to hear it,” Coran said as entered the room while carrying a large case in his arms, “and now that your colour has been properly shown I can give you this.”

Coran smiled as he set the case on Ryou’s bend and opened it like he was putting on a grand show.

Ryou reached into the box, and brought out his new paladin helmet with the same shade of purple on his arm.

He licked his dry lips. “You all still certain you want me as a paladin?”

“You’ve more than earned it,” Shiro said, “so yes.”

Ryou didn’t quite agree with that statement, but he wasn’t in a mood to argue. He gave a wisp of a smile as he leaned back with the helmet still in his hands.

“Thanks,” he said, “for..being there and everything.”

“It’s what families do,” Shiro said as he patted his shoulder, “especially in this family.”

Ryou looked to his helmet. Haggar might have created him to be her puppet, but all strings he had to her were cute now. Despite her intentions, he would be worthy of being a paladin and Ryou would forge his own path. It wouldn’t be easy, but Ryou knew he could do it, especially with his family by his side.


End file.
